President's message: Past and upcoming events for LICN

So many exciting and wonderful things are happening within LICN these days that I feel very fortunate to be in the president's seat surrounded by such an incredible board of directors and a top-drawer membership cadré. Let's briefly recap this year's highlights to date and look forward, together, to the special events yet to come in 2008. We just completed our first-ever commercial newcomer course and it was a resounding success. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Lois Thompson for her tireless efforts to bring this idea to fruition. The presenter group Lois put together made a smooth transition in and out of each of the commercial categories. Many thanks to Alan Hendrickson, Paul Fetscher, Eric Brecher, Ed Smith and Lois for an exhibition of excellent presentation skills. You all made raving fans out of the attendees—who, by the way—are asking for more! Please continue to encourage agents who are new to the commercial world to join LICN and stay available to do a little mentoring when needed. The better we all are, the more we will all prosper and our image as specialist professionals will be further enhanced. Continuing education, both in classroom form and during our monthly networking meetings, is a major factor impacting success and personal/professional satisfaction. And speaking of education: Don't forget that you are entitled to a reimbursement of up to $50 per membership year for the cost of any commercial CE classes you take. Here's some great news; we are all invited to partake of a FREE 3 hour CE class in Ronkonkoma on June 10th on "Understanding Mold" from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Holiday Inn with a complimentary continental breakfast. This is being sponsored by ServPro. I recently took the class and can attest to the fact that it was extremely informative and very well presented. We are now starting preparations for our Summer Event (is it getting close to that time already?) to be held August 26th in Glen Cove...so make sure you put that date onto your calendars. Last year's was pure success! Our sponsorship list is growing and appreciation goes out to all of our members who are bringing in new prospects. We all gain from the networking opportunities that flow from interrelating with our sponsors and affiliates and stand to learn from them as they offer opportunities to see and hear of their specialties. Witness, to name a few, the ServPro class coming up: Jonathan Lane's presentation on solar power, and Peter Reiss on FengShui. Start thinking about who you think is deserving of your nomination for our Commercial Realtor of the Year...that too is coming up soon. It's a huge honor. We have so many who volunteer so much of their time and give so much to our group, it is going to be a really tough call this year. Wishing you all a prosperous summer. Gail Gladstone is the 2008 president of LICN, Huntington, N.Y.